Method and system for data centric heap profiling

Abstract

A method and system for data centric heap profiling is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method, implemented in a computing device, for data centric heap profiling includes generating a type table for data structure types in source code using a compiler of the computing device. The method also includes identifying each heap allocation site and a corresponding data structure type in the source code using the compiler. The method further includes generating a data centric view of a heap o fan application compiled from the source code based on the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type using a debugger of the computing device when a snapshot of the heap is requested during an execution of the application.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method, implemented in a computing device, for data centric heap profiling, comprising:
 generating a type table for data structure types in source code using a compiler of the computing device; 
 identifying each heap allocation site and a corresponding data structure type in the source code using the compiler, wherein the identifying the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type comprises:
 generating a heap allocation site table which includes a program counter (PC) value, an allocation/de-allocation flag, and at least one pointer to at least one of the data structure types; and 
 generating a mapping between the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type using the at least one pointer; 
 wherein the type table and the heap allocation site table are written to a non-loadable section of binary/object files generated by the compiler; and 
 
 generating a data centric view of a heap of an application compiled from the source code based on the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type using a debugger of the computing device when a snapshot of the heap is requested during an execution of the application. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the type table comprises a data structure type and a size of the data structure type. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generating the data centric view of the heap comprises generating a run-time heap allocation call stack table which includes an address allocated for the each heap allocation site, a size of the address, the allocation/de-allocation flag, and the PC value. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generating the data centric view of the heap further comprises mapping a call graph signature at the point of the each heap allocation site to the corresponding data structure type, wherein the call graph signature comprises a set of functions along a code path from the each heap allocation site to a main function. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identifying the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type is based on an intra-procedural analysis. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identifying the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type is based on an inter-procedural analysis, further comprising casting a pointer to void* as a pointer to a correct data structure type. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the source code is written using a weakly typed language which includes C, C++, Pascal, Scripting language, and Python. 
     
     
       8. A system for data centric heap profiling, comprising:
 a processor; and 
 a memory configured for temporarily storing a set of instructions for a data 
 centric heap profiling module, when executed by the processor, causes the 
 processor to perform a method comprising:
 generating a type table for data structure types in source code using a compiler of a computing device; 
 identifying each heap allocation site and a corresponding data structure type in the source code using the compiler, wherein the identifying the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type comprises:
 generating a heap allocation site table which includes a program counter (PC) value, an allocation/de-allocation flag, and at least one pointer to at least one of the data structure types; and 
 generating a mapping between the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type using the at least one pointer; 
 wherein the type table and the heap allocation site table are written to a non-loadable section of binary/object files generated by the compiler; and 
 
 generating a data centric view of a heap of an application compiled from the source code based on the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type using a debugger of the computing device when a snapshot of the heap is requested during an execution of the application. 
 
 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the source code is written using a weakly typed language which includes C, C++, Pascal, Scripting language, and Python. 
     
     
       10. A non-transitory computer readable medium for a data centric heap profiling having instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method comprising:
 generating a type table for data structure types in source code using a compiler of the computer; 
 identifying each heap allocation site and a corresponding data structure type in the source code using the compiler, wherein the identifying the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type comprises:
 generating a heap allocation site table which includes a program counter (PC) value, an allocation/de-allocation flag, and at least one pointer to at least one of the data structure types; and 
 generating a mapping between the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type using the at least one pointer; 
 wherein the type table and the heap allocation site table are written to a non-loadable section of binary/object files generated by the compiler; and 
 
 generating a data centric view of a heap of an application compiled from the source code based on the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type using a debugger of the computer when a snapshot of the heap is requested during an execution of the application. 
 
     
     
       11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the identifying the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type comprises:
 generating a heap allocation site table which includes a PC value, an allocation/de-allocation flag, and at least one pointer to at least one of the data structure types; and 
 generating a mapping between the each heap allocation site and the corresponding data structure type using the at least one pointer.